William Schoenenberger, from the Meredith Neighborhood Association, said the billboards are distracting and said they keep popping up in residential areas.

“Every day there are more and more signs that are being converted from the standard signs to the electronic or the video signs,” he said.

Des Moines City Councilman Chris Hensley said the current ordinance, which was last updated 10 years earlier, needs to be changed.

“(The) concern is that they’re removing billboards in certain areas other than where the new billboard is going up,” Hensley said.

On Monday, city council members will discuss a 60-day halt to adding new billboards until they figure out how to strike a balance that’s fair to businesses and residents.

“You’ve got good corporate citizens who are abiding by the laws and the rules, whereas with the significant increase in digital billboards and particularly close to residential, we’ve got to be responsive to that as well,” Hensley said.

Schoenenberger said he hopes the city makes strict limits to the size and placement of digital billboards. He suggested smaller monument signs instead of larger billboards that are more than 20 feet above ground.

“This is something we need to deal with now because every day new signs are going up,” Schoenenberger said.

The Plan and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing May 1 to make recommendations to the city council regarding amendments.